Here's a piece written by JW when he was in P6. I really enjoyed reading thisas it read like a genuine folktale. So believable.
The Duck-Billed Platypus
by JW Lee
October 2008
A long time ago, there lived many, many animals. The forests were diverse with life, from the smallest ants to the most gigantic mammoths. Among them lived a very peculiar animal, the platypus. This platypus was very vain. He wanted to look outstanding among all other creatures.
So one day, he went to the wise Kingfisher. The Kingfisher was roosted on a branch looking at the morning sun. When he saw the platypus, he asked, "Why have you come to me, so early in the day? All the other animals are sleeping, so why aren't you?"
The Platypus looked at the Kingfisher and said shyly, "I want to look outstanding among animals. Can you help me?"
The Kingfisher was amused by the platypus' answer. The Kingfisher said, "Ah, my friend, you want to look outstanding, you say? Well, then, come back next time when you think you know what you want to look like and I will see if I can grant your wish." The platypus replied, "Oh, thank you, Wise One!"
The Platypus did not go back home until the next day. He was trudging along the riverbank when he saw a dam made of sticks. He walked next to it and saw on the other side of the dam a beautiful looking tail. He made a snatch for it. "Youch!" the Beaver yelped. "Sorry, oh hardworking Beaver. I did not see you there."
The Platypus liked the tail and might ask the Kingfisher about it. Then, the Platypus saw the duck's bill and webbed feet. He liked these too. The Platypus continued walking around and passed by some more animals but did not like them. He decided to go to the Kingfisher's house.
"Ah, my friend, you have come back again. I take it you have what you want?" said the Kingfisher. "Yes!" said the Platypus, "I want the Beaver's tail, the Duck's bill and its feet."
"Very well, go to the wishing pond by my house and your wish will be granted."
The Platypus ran as fast as he could to the pond. He jumped into the pond and slowly, he could see his body changing. When he stepped out, he could hear the slapping of his beaver's tail behind him, his duck's feet slapping on the ground and the "clack clack" sounds his bill produced. He loved how he looked. He went back home and has stayed there for many decades.
And so, to this day, the beaver-tailed, duck-feet-billed platypus looks so outstanding among other animals.
I suddenly recalled something that JW did when he was two and a half years old. But a little background first.
When he was just 18 months old, I enrolled JW in a playgroup. As both my husband and I were working, I did not want JW to be at home with Lucia, our domestic helper, all day long. So the moment he was old enough, I enrolled him in a playgroup. It started with just a few hours twice a week.
It was tough at first. He went through separation anxiety. No, correct that. We BOTH went through separation anxiety! I recall the first day when I was there with him. Not wanting to distract him, I just sat in a corner and observed. Being only 18 months old, he had already learnt how to walk. But sitting on a chair and getting off by himself was still a bit of a problem. My heart sank when he fell as he tried to get off the chair and sustained a bruise on his cheek. That was his first day at Raintree.
Raintree was housed in an old black and white colonial house set in a beautiful large piece of land . I was drawn to the lush and quiet surrounding. It was so green and peaceful, with lots of space for kids to run around in. Sadly, the school has since closed and the house is now a private residence.
The first weeks were still rather difficult and he would cry in school. According to one of his teachers, whenever he went to a particular area during his break, he would start to cry. Then one day, she realised why......there was a wall where photos taken during field trips were displayed. And there was photo of me together with him in one of the photos! Poor JW was thinking of and missing mummy....
JW was such an adorable boy that everyone in the school knew him. One day, when he was about 3, his teacher had to be away for a while and the school supervisor, Miss Joanne took over the class. When his regular teacher came back, he went to Miss Joanne and said to her, "Miss Joanne, you can go now. My teacher is back." Miss Joanne was so tickled, she told me about the incident.
Oh dear, how old memories start flooding back when I think about the early years. But back to what I wanted to write in the first place. One of JW's teachers, Mrs Surreinder, had captured what he said by typing out on a piece of paper with his drawing of a chicken. It was titled My Chicken:
My Chicken
My...My Mrs Surreinder my white chicken is my friend. I love my white chicken. My white chicken can paddle boats. Chicken sit inside the boat and merrily merrily down the stream. Then my chicken sat in my BMW car. My chicken send car lighting store. My chicken went to the lighting store to buy car and lighting. Lightning comes first then rain will come.
Mrs Surreinder had captured the word "lighting" but I'm pretty sure he meant "lightning" becauseif I recall correctly, just around that time, my brother or my dad had told him that lightning comes before thunder and that if you see lightning, it means that the rain will come soon.
Ten years on and my boy is still telling stories, but not of chickens anymore!
Lucia was our first domestic helper. She was very young when she first came to live with us. JW was then about 15 months old. Fifteen months later, JJ arrived, 6 weeks premature. While JJ was looked after by a nanny (we felt Lucia was too young and JJ was too small to handle) Lucia took care of JW. But Lucia loved JJ very much and every morning she would play with him.
As a gift to Lucia before she left, on behalf of each of the boys, I wrote these poems. She cried when she read them. We had kept in touch for a while after she went back to the Philippines but have lost touch with her for a long time now. I do wonder how she is now.
For Lucia From JW
When you first came,
I was fifteen months old
I didn't know how to call your name
I just learned how to walk
I could hardly talk
I was still sleeping in my baby cot
(Do you remember when
I frightened you by climbing out of my cot
While you went to make my milk?)
Then I went to school
And you had to come with me on the bus
I cried when you were not with me
Now I am almost three years old
I go to school by myself
And I talk like a pro
I argue, I say "no"
I ask "Why?" all the time
I can sing and make new songs
And I can tell you stories or
What I did in school
Now I can ask questions like
"Why are you crying, Lucia?"
I will remember that you were
The first maid that took care of me
And I want you to know
That I will miss you when you are gone
Love,
JW
For Lucia From JJ
I arrived six weeks early
And weighed only five pounds
I was all skin and bones
You did not know
How to carry, feed or bathe me
But now I am five months old
And you know how to take care of me
I like it when you play with me
And make me giggle and laugh
I don't know how to talk yet
So I just want you to know that
I will miss you when you are gone
Today, I'm in the mood to talk about shopping. Especially since I managed to find some really good, no, GREAT, bargains this week. And I was not even looking to buy anything. Talk about impulse buys! But I'm happy to say that there was no buyer's remorse here.
First, let's talk about my beige and black pumps. I first saw them at a shop near the Mid Levels escalator. I was ready to buy but because I was in a rush, I thought I'd come back another day. Thank goodness I waited. Because I saw them at Sheung Wan selling at less than half the price!! So how much do you think they cost? HK$60 (which is about S$12 or US$8). Unbelievable. I wore them yesterday and they were so comfortable.
How often do young children realise what a great dad they have? Or for that matter, how do dads know that they are loved and missed? At the time when when the boys were about 3 and 6 years old, there were some incidents which I found really heartwarming. So when Father's Day came, I decided to pen something as a gift from the children to their dad. JW was the one who got to go to Thailand when I was there on a business trip. I wonder if he remembers the incident. I definitely do.
So here's the boys' tribute to their dad.
Dear Daddy,
Mummy says you are a great dad
You may scold us, cane us
But you still love us
After you scold us
You go all soft
And a hug you will give us
Remember that time
When Mummy was in Thailand for work
And you were coaching me at maths?
But you got all upset
When I couldn’t understand what you said
And what happened after that?
I got to become the ‘Big Bag’ you carried everywhere
And a real big surprise for Mummy after that
You brought me to Thailand
‘Cos you felt so bad!!
(Oh, and Mummy was so touched
She never felt so much love for you
than on that day)
You may scold us, cane us
But you still love us
Which is why
After you left for your holiday
We missed you everyday
And asked, ‘Who’s going to scold us now?”
Yes, Mummy is right
You may scold us, cane us
But you still love us
Happy Father’s Day, Daddy
And we love you too!!
Written on behalf of JW and JJ as a gift for Daddy (‘cos really, Daddy doesn’t know what a great dad he is!)
Once, my younger son, JJ, asked me if we had any home videos. He had watched a programme on TV where home videos were shown and had found them so funny. The sad answer was 'No'. And I regret that 'cos apart from photographs, that would have been a great way to capture all the memories of them growing up. You can capture a smile in a photo, but not the voices of laughter and all the sweetest things that kids say.
But that still did not get me off to writing a blog. What inspired me was reading my older boy, JW's, composition yesterday. I think he writes exceptionally well for a 12 year old. He didn't always, though. For a while, I was worried because even though he read extensively (Eragon when he was 9 years old - one of his proud moments, he says), he could not write a decent essay. I had always found it so frustrating having to read and correct his essays. But when he approached 11, somehow, he began to improve and write beautifully.
Today, I publish his writing that inspired this blog. It's a little lengthy, but I do not want to regret (like I regretted not making home videos) capturing what I think is his emerging talent. Who knows, one day he may be a best-selling author? So here it is.
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by JW LEE
Have you ever felt that you were left out? An outsider, an intruder, a nobody? I bet you probably have experienced something like that at least once in your life. Well, this is my account of my experiences.
First day of school was bound to be the most awkward. The constant clamour of children you didn't know, talking about things you would never know. But I kept telling myself it'll get better, it'll get better.
"Welcome back!" the principal boomed. She was tall and seemed like she had done this every year and was getting bored of the whole speech she was about to give. "As you probably noticed, we have just changed the floor boards of our dearly beloved gym. This is all brand new and I hope that you will take good care of it. As for other matters, we have a few new staff...."
Out of breath hardly qualified as the correct term for how I felt after climbing flight after flight after flight of what seemed to be a never ending cascade of steps. I could have collapsed on the floor and risk embarrassing myself in front of the whole class but I wasn't going to let my dignity slip away that easily. As I stepped into the bustling classroom, I made my way to my desk and slumped down on it.
"Good morning, class. I'm Miss Lim and I'm your form teacher. We have two new students in our class this year." Please, please don't make me stand up, please don't make me stand up.
"Andrew and JW, would you like to stand up and introduce yourself?" Darn it.
Andrew was tall, and I mean really tall. Compared to him, I was nothing but a midget. He was quite intimidating up until he spoke, which immediately blew his reputation.
"Hi, my name is Andrew and I like reading. My favourite subjects are math and science." His voice was nothing like the hoarse, rough voice you would expect from a person as burly and as tall as him. It was squeaky. He was shy but not as shy as me. I hardly had the strength to stand up. My breath came in ragged gasps. Before long, I was sweating. I was hyperventilating.
"Um, my name is JW and I like, uh," I quickly picked up the first word on the notice board, "Dancing."
The whole class broke into laughter. I shot back into my seat feeling completely and utterly humiliated. The rest of the day went without a hitch, when during recess a boy walked up to me. "Hey, do you wanna join us in a game of soccer? We could use the extra feet."
"Um," come on I nudged myself from the inside. Say yes!!!
"Sure, yeah, I'd love to join you in your game."
"Yeah, that's cool, come on, I'll take you to the tennis court."
Tennis court? What happened to the good old fashioned soccer pitch? As I soon found out, the school was too small to have its own soccer pitch, but their tennis court was big enough to house the whole level. Soon enough I was swept up in the game. The whole court was full of 'here. pass the ball' and 'GOAL'. Halfway through the game, the ball flew towards me and I kicked with all the strength I could muster in one hell of a kick. The ball flew out of the tennis court onto the road below.
"Oh my god" was all I could say.
Everybody flew out of the tennis court. I simply followed the crowd. Holy shit, what was I going to do? Stay? Flee? Would I get busted for the incident?
Luckily enough, I didn't have to worry about getting into trouble as quite a lot of people had kicked the ball out of the tennis court before. Weirdly enough, I was known for that small incident, but it was still nice to h ave a 'good' reputation.
Before long, it was lunch and everybody hustled through the crowd of ever growing children. "Where's the fire?" I mumbled. It was a race to the canteen. Now imagine a stampede and you will understand what it felt like along the stairways. As I stepped into the bustling canteen, I instantly understood the rush. The lunch queue was practically a mile long. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. The constant tick of the clock was starting to bug me. Finally I was up next! The lunch lady handed me something that looked like a cross between sludge and beef jerky.
"You must have this wrong. I ordered beef stew," I protested.
"This is your beef stew. Could you step away from the queue? We have other students to serve," she replied tersely.
Okay, it can't be that bad if other people order it, right? Sulking, I went to find myself a seat. As I walked past a boy, I failed to notice the orange puddle in front of me. I slipped and ended up head over heels on the floor.
Okay, this was officially the worst day ever. After school, I walked over to the bus and sat in my seat. A few people walked up to me and waved. Some even were bold enough to strike up a conversation. Well, maybe this day wasn't as bad as I thought. This was going to be an interesting year.
